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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. swing — to play on
  3. clip — for paper
  4. charge — a price
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — after costs
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. charge — electricity
  11. net — in sport
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — from crying
  14. branch — a division
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. clip — to cut
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. charge — in control
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com